Agenda and minutes

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 27 March 2019 be confirmed.

Please note that, in accordance with the Members' Code of Conduct, when declaring interests members must disclose the existence and nature of the interest, and whether it is a disclosable pecuniary interest (DPI) or personal and/or pecuniary.

Councillor Chris Burke declared a Personal and Pecuniary Interest with regard to the agenda item titled 'Lord Tennyson House, 72 Rasen Lane, Lincoln'. Reason: He sat on the Board of the YMCA.

He left the room during the discussion of this item and took no part in the vote on the matter to be determined.

Councillor Edmund Strengiel declared a Personal and Pecuniary Interest with regard to the agenda item titled 'Lord Tennyson House, 72 Rasen Lane, Lincoln'. Reason: He was a Director of the YMCA.

He left the room during the discussion of this item and took no part in the vote on the matter to be determined.

In the interest of transparency:

·         Councillor A Briggs requested it be noted that his son worked for a local demolition firm, although he had no influence or involvement in securing contracts or the management of the business.

·         Councillor C Burke requested it be noted that he had drunk at the Golden Cross Pub more than 6 months ago.

·         Councillors C Burke and G Hewson requested it be noted that they knew two of the objectors to the planning application as a passing acquaintance.

·         Councillors B Bean, K Brothwell, B Bushell and J Hanrahan requested it be noted that they knew one of the objectors to the planning application as a passing acquaintance.

The Arboricultural Officer:

a.    advised members of the reasons for proposed works to tree’s in City Council ownership and sought consent to progress the works identified, as detailed at Appendix A of his report

b.    explained that Ward Councillors had been notified of the proposed works

c.    stated that in some cases it was not possible to plant a tree in the exact location and in these cases a replacement would be replanted in the vicinity.

RESOLVED that the works set out in the schedule at Appendix A attached to the report be approved.

The Principal Planning Officer:

a.    advised that planning permission was sought for the demolition of an existing Public House and the erection of a three storey building to accommodate 47 bedrooms with en suite bathrooms for use as student accommodation, with associated access, car parking and landscaping (revised plans)

b.    described the application site as roughly square in shape occupied by the two-storey Golden Cross Public House built in 1959, located to the eastern side of High Street at the junction with Queen Street, with commercial properties in all directions and residential development close by to the north, south and east

c.    highlighted that only the access for the development from Queen Street was fixed in this application, all other details including the layout of the site; and scale of the buildings were indicative at this stage along with the appearance of the buildings and any landscaping, to be agreed through subsequent application(s) for Reserved Matters

d.    highlighted that the building was prominent in its locality, within the Gowts Bridge Conservation Area, shown within the Local Plan, and not allocated for a specific use

e.    provided details of the policies pertaining to the application, as follows:

·         Policy LP1     A Presumption in Favour of Sustainable Development

·         Policy LP2     The Spatial Strategy and Settlement Hierarchy

·         Policy LP3     Level and Distribution of Growth

·         Policy LP9     Health and Wellbeing

·         Policy LP12   Infrastructure to Support Growth

·         Policy LP13   Accessibility and Transport

·         Policy LP14   Managing Water Resources and Flood Risk

·         Policy LP16   Development on Land Affected by Contamination

·         Policy LP25   The Historic Environment

·         Policy LP26   Design and Amenity

·         Policy LP29   Protecting Lincoln's Setting and Character

·         Policy LP33   Lincoln's City Centre Primary Shopping Area and Central Mixed Use Area

·         Policy LP35   Lincoln's Regeneration and Opportunity Areas

·         Policy LP36   Access and Movement within the Lincoln Area

·         National Planning Policy Framework      

f.     outlined the responses made to the consultation exercise

g.    referred to the update sheet which contained a consultation response from NHS England requesting a contribution towards healthcare, a further response from Lincoln Civic Trust and a local resident, and a revised suggested officer recommendation taking into account measures to procure an S106 financial contribution in relation to health infrastructure

h.    advised members of the main issues to be considered as part of the application to assess the proposal with regard to:

·         The Principle of the Development and Service Provision;

·         The Design of the Proposals and their Visual Impact;

·         The Implications of the Proposals upon Amenity;

·         Sustainable Access, Highway Safety and Traffic Capacity;

·         Archaeology;

·         Drainage;

·         Land Contamination and Air Quality; and

·         The Planning Balance.

i.      concluded that:

·         The presumption in favour of sustainable development required by the National Planning Policy Framework would apply to the proposals as there would not be conflict with any of the three strands of sustainability that would apply to development as set out in the planning balance.

·         There would not be harm caused by approving the development so it was the recommendation of officers that the application should benefit from planning permission for  ...  view the full minutes text for item 90.

(Councillors C Burke and Strengiel left the room during the discussion and determination of this item, having declared a personal and pecuniary interest in the matter to be discussed.)

The Planning Manager:

a.    described the location of Lord Tennyson House to the north side of Rasen Lane on the corner of the entrance with Sastangate House, opposite Cecil Street, with all other boundaries occupied by residential terrace properties 

b.    advised that planning permission was sought to vary Condition 13 of planning permission reference 2015/0530/F, granted 18 September 2015, which prohibited the occupation of the building by anyone other than students; the apartments had been occupied by students of Bishop Grosseteste University since opening

c.    highlighted that the applicants had stated that the University had recently exercised their right to a clause which broke the lease of these student accommodation blocks; as this had only just been received there was a reduced chance of securing its full occupation for the next academic year

d.    reported that permission was now sought to vary condition 13 to:-

·         “Notwithstanding the provisions of Schedule 2 of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 2015 (or any subsequent re-enactment or revocation thereof) the accommodation hereby approved shall only be used by students or those provided with supported living accommodation and for no other residential use without the prior consent of the City Council as Local Planning Authority”.

e.    outlined the site history in relation to the application site as detailed within the officer’s report

f.     provided details of the policies pertaining to the application, as follows:

·         National Planning Policy Framework

·         Central Lincoln Local Plan – Policy LP26 Design and Amenity                                  

g.    outlined the responses made to the consultation exercise

h.    referred to the update sheet which contained a further response received from Lincoln Civic Trust, together with a revised proposed officer recommendation in relation to Condition No 13

i.      advised members of the main issues to be considered as part of the application to assess the proposal with regard to:

·         Residential Amenity

·         Visual Amenity

·         Applicants Reasons for Varying Condition 13

j.      concluded that:

·         The variation to allow the occupation of the apartments by both students and as supported living accommodation would have no adverse impacts on neighbouring residents nor result in any visual impacts.

·         The condition still allowed control of car parking which was the reason for the condition being imposed on the original consent.

·         Therefore it was acceptable to allow the variation and it accorded with national and local planning policy.

Councillor Donald Nannestad, addressed Planning Committee as Ward Advocate in relation to the proposed development, covering the following main points:

·         He thanked members of Planning Committee for allowing him the opportunity to speak.

·         He raised concerns regarding the way in which this issue had been dealt with.

·         According to comments made by objectors, they understood that the application requested authority to remove the condition requiring the premises to be occupied only by students, reverting to open access for all, although this was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 91.

(Councillors C Burke and Strengiel returned to the room to take their seats for the remainder of the meeting.)

The Planning Manager:

a.    described the location of the proposed development relating to Boultham Park Tennis Courts, situated to the north of the Bowling Green and Pavilion, to the rear of residential properties along Western Avenue, and to the west the residential development known as Home Green, which was nearing completion

b.    advised that planning permission was sought for the erection of a 3 metre high fence and gates to replace existing fencing

c.    highlighted that the application site fell within the boundary of Boultham Park which was a Grade II Listed Historic Park and Garden and the Witham Valley Green Wedge

d.    advised that this planning application was brought to Committee, the applicant being the City of Lincoln Council   

e.    provided details of the policies pertaining to the application, as follows:

·         Policy LP1     A Presumption in Favour of Sustainable Development

·         Policy LP22   Green Wedges

·         Policy LP25   The Historic Environment

·         National Planning Policy Framework      

f.     outlined the responses made to the consultation exercise

g.    advised members of the main issues to be considered as part of the application to consider whether the proposal was in accordance with the provisions of Policy LP22 'Green Wedges' and Policy LP25 'Historic Environment' of the Central Lincolnshire Local Plan (2017) and relevant guidance contained within the National Planning Policy Framework (2019)

h.    concluded that the proposed development would preserve the character and appearance of Boultham Park and the function and aims of the Witham Valley Green Wedge, in accordance with the provisions of Policy LP22 'Green Wedges' and LP25 'Historic Environment' of the Central Lincolnshire Local Plan (2017) and relevant guidance contained within the National Planning Policy Framework (2019)

Members discussed the content of the report in further detail.

RESOLVED that planning permission be granted subject to the following conditions.

Standard Conditions

01)      The development must be begun not later than the expiration of three years beginning with the date of this permission.

            Reason: As required by Section 91 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.

02)      With the exception of the detailed matters referred to by the conditions of this consent, the development hereby approved shall be carried out in accordance with the drawings listed within Table A below.

            The works shall be carried out in accordance with the details shown on the approved plans and in any other approved documents forming part of the application.

            Reason: To ensure the development proceeds in accordance with the approved plans.

Conditions to be discharged before commencement of works

            None.

Conditions to be discharged before use is implemented

            None.

Conditions to be adhered to at all times

            None.

The above recommendation has been made in accordance with the submitted drawings identified below:

RESOLVED that the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following item(s) of business because it was likely that if members of the public were present there would be a disclosure to them of ‘exempt information’ as defined by Section 100I and Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972

RESOLVED that the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following item(s) of business because it was likely that if members of the public were present there would be a disclosure to them of ‘exempt information’ as defined by Section 100I and Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972.

The Planning Manager:

a.    presented a report to bring to Committee’s attention a breach of planning regulations and to recommend a course of action for dealing with the breach

b.    gave further details within the report covering the background and options available

c.    recommended a suggested course of action as detailed within the report.

Members discussed the content of the report in further detail, asked questions and received relevant responses from officers thereon.

RESOLVED that the course of action recommended at paragraphs 8.1 of the report be approved.